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Elevated rates of earthquake activity and ground deformation in Kīlauea summit region began in the early morning of January 31, prompting HVO to raise the alert level and aviation color code to WATCH/ORANGE. Yellow circles on this map mark earthquake locations from January 31, 2024, through noon on February 1, 2024, as recorded by HVO seismometers. Seismicity began early January 31 in the summit region and shifted to the southwest along the Koa‘e fault system late on January 31, 2024. In total, nearly 1,000 events have been detected in this area since January 31. Depths have remained consistent, 1–4 km (less than a mile–2.5 mi) below the surface, and the rates have persisted at 25-30 locatable earthquakes per hour. Magnitudes range from less than 1 to a maximum of around 3.5. Patterns of earthquakes and ground deformation indicate that pulses of magma continue to move beneath the surface of southwest of the summit along the Koa‘e fault zone. 

The MITDcam provides views of this area: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/mitdcam-kilaueas-upper-southwest-rift-zone-looking-north.

For more information on this unrest, see the following resources:

• February 1 morning daily update: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-02-01T19:44:10+00:00 
• January 31 afternoon status report: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-02-01T03:44:28+00:00 
• January 31 morning daily update: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-01-31T10:20:40-08:00 
• January 31 Volcanic Activity notice: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2023-10-06T18:55:23-07:00